Italy may be the country in the world that is most passionate about preserving its own cuisine.Breaking spaghetti and throwing it into the pot is considered a serious provocation and will provoke an internet war among Italians.But when an Italian history professor pointed out that today's Italian cuisine not only has a shorter history, but more than half of it was invented in the United States.〓The fuse of the Third Italo-French War: A Frenchman broke the pasta
Italian food wars
When it comes to food, Italians have always looked down on Americans , feeling that they are always messing with their cuisine.Today's iced Americano, a lifesaver for working people, is a despised commodity in Italy. The most authentic Italian coffee is the bitter espresso. If you can't handle that, you can add milk to a latte or cappuccino, but never water it down.Italians call espresso with water Caffè Americano. Americano can also refer to Americans. When Italians mention Americano, their tone is:To expand its business in Italy, Starbucks sponsored the Milan municipal government to plant palm trees in the square to curry favor with the Italian people. However, when Starbucks announced its entry into Italy, protesters set the trees on fire.All I can say is that after licking it to the end, there is nothing left.
Starbucks only entered Italy in 2018. The first store was more like a museum than a cafe.
Hostility alone isn't enough; action is needed to protect Italian cuisine. Organizations dedicated to preserving the authenticity of Italian cuisine exist worldwide. Italy's Minister of Agriculture has proposed establishing a task force to conduct global inspections to monitor and correct the standards of Italian cuisine worldwide.When Italians go crazy, it's even scarier than when fan clubs go on an expedition.In 2015, three-Michelin-starred chef Carlo Craco claimed the secret to his "Amatriciana" spaghetti bolognese recipe was garlic. This sparked outrage from officials, who essentially said: "How dare you be a Michelin chef? We don't officially allow garlic, do you?"
The first step in making Amatriciana is to fry the bacon. According to official sources, the chef can use lard. If there is no lard, it is better not to use oil or vegetable oil.
"Inauthentic" can be regarded as a two-dimensional foil in the Italian food circle. Throwing it out to the enemy is like a dimensionality reduction attack, crushing it into pieces .But the problem is that many ingredients, including the tomato, a favorite in Italian cuisine, were only introduced to Italy in modern times . If you were to ask what the most authentic Italian food is, it's probably primitive barbecue and tree bark from the streets of Milan.
Italy boasts over 800 designations of origin, and 4,800 officially registered Italian food products. Seeing the Italians' enthusiasm for World Heritage listings makes the widespread online rumors about Koreans stealing cultural heritage seem like a myth. (In reality, most of these instances of "Koreans stealing culture" are misinformation, such as the nearly 20-year-old rumor that "South Korea is applying for World Heritage status for the Dragon Boat Festival." South Korea 's Gangneung Danoje is a sacrificial ritual rich in shamanic elements, similar in name only, and significantly different from the Dragon Boat Festival. World Heritage listings are not trademark squatting , and there's no such thing as a trademark application occupying a space . )
Beyond just a matter of prestige, geographical trademark protection also offers substantial economic benefits. Officials from the Italian Ministry of Agriculture have stated that if the world were to seriously combat unlabeled Italian food, Italy's agricultural exports could double to €41 billion annually.
〓Open -air Italian restaurants are also popular among AmericansAfter all, Italians are sensitive and fragile when it comes to food. In the European Cup final two years ago, England played against Italy, and English fans ordered a lot of pineapple pizzas to humiliate their opponents.It was no use, Italy won the championship in the end.Anyway, speaking ill of Italian food is a stab in the heart of the Italian people . Not only are the people unhappy, but even their servants disagree. The Italian ambassador to Turkey once warned historian Grandi, who pointed out that "Italian cuisine has a short history and is an American invention," to tone it down.Of course, for someone like Grandi who is a bit stubborn at heart, the more you don't let him speak, the stronger his desire to express himself becomes.Finally, at the critical moment when the Italian government officially announced the application of Italian traditional dishes for World Heritage, he accepted an interview with the Financial Times and revealed the secrets of Italian cuisine to the people of the world.
〓Grundy was interviewed, which instantly made him an "Italian traitor"You can eat pizza thanks to Americans
So what exactly did he say?In fact, it just stated some irrefutable facts, which can only be considered as a general exaggeration.For example, Italians will fiercely defend pizza and will not allow anyone to put even a speck of pineapple on it. A few decades ago, most Italians would have never heard of it.
〓Those who are against Hawaiian pizza probably haven't seen durian pizza
The word "pizza" originates from Pitta, a traditional Greek flatbread. The original pizza was a typical poor man's delight: a flatbread greased with oil, considered good. And Italians outside of Naples had never seen pizza.It was not until the early 20th century, when Italian immigrants came to New York, that restaurants specializing in pizza appeared in the world.During World War II, American soldiers who landed on Italian soil were surprised to find that there was not a single pizza restaurant in Italy, while Italian pizza restaurants could be found everywhere in the United States .From this perspective, there's nothing wrong with saying pizza is a true American delicacy .
〓 Pitta bread with vegetables and hummus. This kind of eating method is actually very common in the Mediterranean coast.
This incredible phenomenon is mostly because the spread of information is not a straight line, and the popularization of food always has a complex route.Snow peas, native to South Asia, were first brought in by the Dutch, so people call them "snow peas". Europeans and Americans saw that snow peas were often used in Chinese cuisine, so in English, snow peas are called "beans" .Similarly, there is the Taiwanese hand-pulled pancake, which is called "Beijing scallion pancake" in Taiwan. Judging from the taste, this pancake was probably brought by northerners who immigrated to Taiwan in 1949 and later spread back to the mainland.
〓Italian women on the streets of New YorkCarbonara was invented by an Italian chef to entertain the American soldiers who liberated Italy. Its "history" is only a few decades .This is not only documented in history, but also in taste. Italian carbonara, full of cream and cheese, looks very greasy and calorie-filled, and is a typical American way of eating.Alfredo, an American invention despised by Italians, is almost identical except for the omission of bacon .Even so, Italians still have no doubt that the carbonara comes from Lao Wang next door.
〓Lelio , the inventor of Alfredo noodlesThe most authentic production method for the Parmesan cheese, so proud of Italians, is actually in Wisconsin, USA . As for the so-called Italian Parmesan, it is not as authentic as the American version, which the government allows to add preservatives.
〓Tossing hot pasta with a giant block of Parmesan cheese and serving it to customers has become a popular way of eating in recent years.While not an American dish, the globally popular tiramisu is a relatively recent creation. Italy's Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions still debate the true origin of tiramisu, much like competing for the birthplace of famous figures like the Monkey King.Why are Italians so sensitive?
When discussing the origins of modern Italian cuisine, poverty is a constant theme : espresso was originally consumed by working people, and its popularity stemmed from a preference for strong flavors among the poor. Today's fluffy and sumptuous Italian Christmas toni bread is actually more like a round-shaped version of Xinjiang walnut bread (though walnut bread is still far from the authentic bread with sawdust).
〓A baker making Christmas Tony sweet breadIn 1870, Italy's per capita GDP was less than 80% of the European average, 60% of the United States, and 50% of the United Kingdom. This was also the year when the gap between Italy and the great powers was smallest. By the end of World War II, Italy's per capita GDP was only one-fifth of that of the United States.Delicacies forgotten by Italians this morning include, but are not limited to: hedgehog, guinea pig, hare, sparrow, peacock, donkey and horse meat.
The south of Italy is significantly poorer than the north. Some Italians jokingly divide the country into three parts: the north is Italy, the south is Ethiopia, and the isolated island of Sicily is jokingly called Somalia.
If you don’t have enough food to eat, you can only vote with your feet.From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, when the total population was less than 30 million, 4 million Italians immigrated to the United States, 80% of whom came from the South.America back then was truly primitive and abundant: plates filled with chicken, baseball-sized meatballs, and ribs that could be roasted whole.An Italian came to the United States and found that even the food eaten by black slaves was better than that in his hometown. He kept shouting "Mamma Mia!"
〓 1900, New York’s “Little Italy”From this point on, Italian cuisine truly began to include meat . After World War II, the United States didn't mistreat the Italian people, who decisively defected when the tide turned against them. Meat-heavy American-style Italian cuisine, returning to a devastated Italy, unwittingly became the "time-honored" tradition.Italians have enjoyed the luxury of meat and fish every day for only 70 years, and their dishes, which they are so proud of, have not been able to shake off the label of "poor people's food" for much longer .
〓The method of adding meatballs to pasta comes from the movie Lady and the TrampUltimately, Italy's history as a unified nation is but a fleeting moment. From the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Apennine Peninsula remained divided for 1,500 years. It wasn't until the year after the Anglo-French coalition burned down the Old Summer Palace that Italy finally unified north and south, a mere 162 years later.Rather than defending Italian food, it would be more accurate to say that Italians are defending an illusory and fragile identity.For those who don’t need to worry about “where I come from and where I’m going”, “authentic” and “genuine” are not important at all. What’s important is to enjoy the meal.
1.<12 Popular Dishes That You Think Are Italian But Are Not>.rogerbissell2.<Everything I, an Italian, thought I knew about Italian food is wrong>.Financial Times
3.<Italian Cuisine Unesco Heritage: The Candidacy Is Official>.Traveller
